Disposable container

ABSTRACT

A disposable container for consumable goods having a generally rigid or semi-rigid upper portion and a non-rigid thin wall bottom portion in the form, for example, of a sack. A reusable rigid or semi-rigid shell is also provided that receives the bottom portion and in use, attaches to the top portion. The bottom portion can also be provided in a double wall sack or pouch arrangement for insulation and/or rigidity purposes.

[ 1 June 19, 1973 United States Patent 1 Sondel DISPOSABLE CONTAINERPrimary Examiner--Herbert F. Ross Assistant Examiner-Ste A phen P. Garbettorney-Gera1d L. Price [22] Filed:

ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 134,951

[52] US. ISO/0.5, 206/65 R, 215/12 R, A disposable container forconsumable goods having a generally rigid or semi-r rigid thin wallbottom igid upper portion and a nonportion in the form for example, ellis also proportion and in use, at-

51 Int. B65d 150/05; 215/12 R,

Field of [58] ofa sack. A reusable rigid or semi-rigid sh 2l5/l3 R, 11E, l C; 220/9 R, 63 R; 222/215, vided that receives the bottom 183,386.5, 105; 229/14 B taches to the top portion. The bottom portion canalso be provided in a double wall s aclr or pouch arrange- ReferencesCited ment for insulation and/or rigidity purposes. UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,286,797 Duerme..l............. 215 11 E 12 Clams 5 DrawmgF'gures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relatesgenerally to containers, and more particularly, to an improveddisposable container for use with consumable products,

In recent years, conservationists and ecologists have becomeparticularly concerned with the worlds mounting waste disposal problemand the valuable natural resources (petrochemicals, natural gas) whichare utilized in the manufacture of disposable plastic containers inpackaging andwhich are not replaceable.

While many types of plastic packaging in containers are capable of beingrecycled and re-used, the cost of collecting, sorting, and reprocessingplastic containers and packaging is commercially unfeasible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the general aim of the present inventionto provide a new and improved disposable plastic container forconsumable materials in which the amount of plastic material that isdisposed of is held to a minimum, yet wherein the relative convenienceand safety of the container is greater than has heretofore beenpossible. A related object of the invention is to provide an improveddisposable plastic container for beverages, food products, household andcommercial products and the like wherein the container is particularlywell lent to high production packaging, shipping and storage, anddisplay in marketing.

It is another object of the invention to provide a relatively low costdisposable container for carbonated beverages and other productspackaged under pressure such as aerosol sprays, which possess a highfactor of safety in handling, storage and disposal.

Still another aim of the present invention is to provide a disposableplastic container for consumer and commercial products of a consumablenature at a far lower cost than has heretofore been possible, yet whichwhen placed in use in a dispensing operation, possesses far greaterrigidity and strength than have similar containers and packages whichhave been heretofore available.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of theinvention will appear from the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of an exemplary disposable plasticcontainer embodying the features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view, taken substantially along the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the upper and lower portionof the container illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlargedfragmentary sectional view similar to that of FIG.3 but here showing a modified disposable container embodying thefeatures of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view depicting a packaging and carryingarrangement for a plurality of disposable containers embodying thefeatures of the present invention.

While the present invention is susceptible of various modifications andalternative constructions, illustrative embodiments are shown in thedrawings and will herein be described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention tothe particular forms disclosed, but, on the contrary, the intention isto cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative constructionsfallingwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in theappended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2,an exemplary disposable plastic container, generally indicated at 10, isillustrated, the container including a top 11 and a bottom portion 12integral with, and depending from the top 11. As here shown, the top 11is provided with a closure 13 of the tear-off type and in the exemplaryembodiment, the top 11 is of a shape whereby upon the removal of theclosure 13, it would serve as a mouthpiece so that a beverage containedtherein could be consumed much in the manner as. when drinking from aglass rather than a narrow neck conventional glass bottle.

In accordance with one of the important aspects of the presentinvention, provision is made for utilizing a minimum of plastic materialfor a disposable container, yet wherein the container is of strong andrigid nature when utilized. This is accomplished by forming thedisposable container with the top portion 11 having a wall thicknesssufficiently great so as to render the top generally rigid or semi-rigidand forming the bottom portion 12 with a side-wall thickness far lessthan that of the top and of a thickness no greater than that sufficientto contain the material that the container is intended for withoutfailing. In the exemplary container, the thickness of the bottom portion12 for the purposes of illustration is depicted as approximatelyone-fourth that of the top 11 although as will be hereinafter pointedout, the side-wall thickness of the bottom portion 12 could be far lessthan that depicted.

In order to provide the disposable container 10 with the requisitestrength and rigidity during use, a semirigid or rigid shell 14 isprovided and adapted to be connectably received by the top 11 of thedisposable container 10. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shell 14 isconnectably received by the top 11 by an internal threaded portion 16 ofthe top 11 engaging an external threaded portion of the shell 14. Othersuitable connecting arrangements can also be utilized such as, forexample, a mating groove and ridge arrangement 18 between the modifiedtop 1 1A and modified shell 14A depicted in FIG. 4.

In the use of the exemplary disposable container 10, it is contemplatedthat the shell 14 would not be of a disposable nature but could beutilized repeatedly with additional containers 10. In the situationwhere a beverage is provided in container 10,. the shell 14 can beprovided an appearance consistent with serving pieces that would enablethe beverage 18 to be served directly at the dining table in thecontainer 11 rather than having to transfer it to another drinkingreceptacle.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the internal shape of the shell 14 is such thatit will lend support to substantially the entire bottom portion 12 ofthe container 10, and accordingly the primary strength requirement ofthe bottom portion 12 would be in the shipping, handling and storage ofsame prior to its use when it is in conjunction with the shell 14.

While different types of plastics and production processes are well lentto the instant disposable container, it is contemplated that theexemplary container would be fabricated from any one or more of the wellknown plastic materials currently utilized for containers such aspolyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and polyethylene. Furthermore, boththe disposable container and the reuseable shell 14 therefor can bereadily formed utilizing conventional plastic production processes suchas blow molding and injection molding.

In order to provide increased rigidity and strength to the bottomportion 12 when a liquid or other fluid under pressure is containedwithin the exemplary container 10, a double-walled construction isemployed as depicted in FIG. 3. By forming internal spacers (not shown)or maintaining the space between the doublewalled construction 20 underpressure, significantly greater strength and rigidity can be obtainedwithout resorting to constructing a heavy side-wall thickness whichwould result in the waste of substantial amounts of plastic. In thisconnection it should also be pointed out that in the event of excessivepressure being built up within the container due to incineration orexcessive heat, the relative danger of a serious injury occuring if thecontainer fails is far less with the exemplary container than theconventional metal containers.

While it is contemplated that the bottom portion 12 will be integralwith the top 11 and formed simultaneously in a molding operation, it isalso pointed out that the bottom portion 12 could also be joined to thetop by any one of a number of well known methods such as sonic weldingor a chemical bond obtained by utilizing the proper solvent.

Present production processes would also enable the double wall bottomportion to be integrally formed with the top portion 11 as shown in FIG.3. An example of a method in apparatus which could be utilized is foundin U. S. Pat. 3,103,036 to T. J. Nave, et al.

With reference to FIG. 5, a carrying container 22 for a plurality of theexemplary disposable containers 10 is illustrated. This container whichcan be readily formed from cardboard, plastic or the like and reused, isprovided with a plurality of apertures sized to receive the bottomportion 12 of the exemplary container but support the top 11 of thecontainer while the bottom portion 12 depends downwardly. It will bereadily appreciated by those skilled in the art that the carryingcontainer 22 is well lent for marketing consumer goods of both an edibleand non-edible nature. Furthermore, a plurality of carrying containers22 could also be packaged in a larger container for shipping andstorage. In applications where the shell 14 is not required, theexemplary container 10 can remain in the carrying container 22 or onesimilar to it with more or less unit capacity and the contents of saidcontainer can be dispensed directly therefrom. In order to facilitateshipping and the aforestated use; each aperture in the container 22 canbe provided with threads or a groove (not shown) to allow the container10 to be releasably secured to the container in the same manner as it issecured to the shell 14.

If desired, the top 11 of the container could be provided from adifferent plastic material than the bottom portion 12 or the top 11could be provided in a nonplastic material such as metal or glass.

What is claimed is:

l. A container system for consumable goods comprising:

a. a disposable container including a top portion having a tubular widemouth open bottom defining a through passage, said top portion having atleast a semi-rigid degree of stability, and a tubular, closed bottom,generally non-self sustaining lower portion integral and contiguous withsaid top portion and depending therefrom, said lower portion having awide mouth open top with a peripheral upper edge thereof secured to thewall defining the wide mouth through passage in said top portion at apoint spaced from the lower edge of said top portion, said lower portionhaving a material thickness substantially less than that of said topportion;

b. a reusable wide mouth open-top shell adapted to insertably receivesaid lower portion of said disposable container, whereby said disposablecontainer when filled is insertable into said shell and is insubstantially contiguous contact therewith, said shell being generallyself-sustaining and c. means on said wall intermediate the lower edge ofsaid top portion and the securement of said lower portion for releasablyreceiving said shell to said top portion of said disposable containerwhen said lower portion thereof is inserted in said shell.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lower portion ofsaid disposable container is plastic.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said top portion ofsaid disposable container further includes closure means maintainingsaid opening therein in a sealed condition.

4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 3 wherein said closure means isself-opening without the use of a tool or utensil.

5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said top portion ofsaid disposable container is plastic.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said lower portion isof a thin wall non-rigid sack configuration.

7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means forreleasably securing said shell to said top portion of said disposablecontainer comprises threads on a portion of said shell and threads on aportion of said top portion, said threads engageable with each other.

8. The apparatus as set forthjn claim 1 wherein said means forreleasably securing said shell to said top portion of said disposablecontainer comprises an interference fit between said shell and said topportion.

9. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein the wall of said lowerportion of said disposable container comprises an outer wall and aninner wall, each said outer and inner wall of a material thicknesssubstantially less than that of said top portion, said outer and innerwall maintained in a spaced apart relationship with each other.

10. The apparatus as set forth in claim 9 wherein the space between saidouter and inner wall is maintained at a pressure substantially higherthan atmosphere.

1 1. The apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said top portion andsaid lower portion of said disposable container are integrally molded.

12. The apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein the interior of saidshell is sized to be substantially filled by said lower portion of saiddisposable container upon the insertion of same therein.

I I I i

1. A container system for consumable goods comprising: a. a disposablecontainer including a top portion having a tubular wide mouth openbottom defining a through passage, said top portion having at least asemi-rigid degree of stability, and a tubular, closed bottom, generallynon-self sustaining lower portion integral and contiguous with said topportion and depending therefrom, said lower portion having a wide mouthopen top with a peripheral upper edge thereof secured to the walldefining the wide mouth through passage in said top portion at a pointspaced from the lower edge of said top portion, said lower portionhaving a material thickness substantially less than that of said topportion; b. a reusable wide mouth open-top shell adapted to insertablyreceive said lower portion of said disposable container, whereby saiddisposable container when filled is insertable into said shell and is insubstantially contiguous contact therewith, said shell being generallyself-sustaining and c. means on said wall intermediate the lower edge ofsaid top portion and the securement of said lower portion for releasablyreceiving said shell to said top portion of said disposable containerwhen said lower portion thereof is inserted in said shelL.
 2. Theapparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lower portion of saiddisposable container is plastic.
 3. The apparatus as set forth in claim1 wherein said top portion of said disposable container further includesclosure means maintaining said opening therein in a sealed condition. 4.The apparatus as set forth in claim 3 wherein said closure means isself-opening without the use of a tool or utensil.
 5. The apparatus asset forth in claim 2 wherein said top portion of said disposablecontainer is plastic.
 6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2 whereinsaid lower portion is of a thin wall non-rigid sack configuration. 7.The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for releasablysecuring said shell to said top portion of said disposable containercomprises threads on a portion of said shell and threads on a portion ofsaid top portion, said threads engageable with each other.
 8. Theapparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for releasablysecuring said shell to said top portion of said disposable containercomprises an interference fit between said shell and said top portion.9. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein the wall of said lowerportion of said disposable container comprises an outer wall and aninner wall, each said outer and inner wall of a material thicknesssubstantially less than that of said top portion, said outer and innerwall maintained in a spaced apart relationship with each other.
 10. Theapparatus as set forth in claim 9 wherein the space between said outerand inner wall is maintained at a pressure substantially higher thanatmosphere.
 11. The apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said topportion and said lower portion of said disposable container areintegrally molded.
 12. The apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein theinterior of said shell is sized to be substantially filled by said lowerportion of said disposable container upon the insertion of same therein.